Healing Stones
by Raven18
Summary: Ron and Harry, both Aurors, are assigned to a case involving a stolen artifact that may have magial properties. Hermoine works for the Ministry but is forced to return to Hogwarts to a certain potions master. SS/HG in later chapters. Please R/R
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Nope, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Neither do the characters. sighs  
  
AN: Hi! This is my first HP fanfic, so be gentle. I really don't want any flames but creative criticism is ok. This takes place 2 years after our heroes graduate from Hogwarts.  
  
*~*~*Healing Stones*~*~*  
  
Prologue  
  
The night was dark and warm. In the early hours of the morning there was only one guard prowling the halls of the gigantic, Gothic style museum. The corridor was dimly lit, only giving off small glints of reflected light off of ancient battle armor and the glass surrounding mummified victims of Druid rituals.  
  
The guard whistled to himself as he roamed the hallway with long confident strides. It was his first day on the job, and he was absolutely sure that he could keep this place one hundred percent under wraps, no one would ever break in with him watching.  
  
He stopped when the light from his flashlight hit a particularly large broadsword. "Whoa..." he murmured as he examined the dazzling silver hilt encrusted with emeralds. The metal of the blade seemed worn with the burden of heavy usage in what he guessed was the Crusades and seemed to weigh half of his body weight. He shook himself out of spell the sword seemed to put over him and walked out of the room.  
  
As he strode past the 'Stones and Gems' exhibit he noticed the beam of another flashlight. Thinking quickly he pressed himself against the wall next to the doorway and listened. He desperately tried to control his breathing and to keep it inaudible. A bolt of panic surged through him as his body begged him to run.  
  
'Shit like this isn't supposed to happen on my first day. I'd rather go back to being a waiter, at least there wasn't a large chance I'd be killed.' he thought as he ran a hand through his short dark hair. 'Okay, okay. Get a grip man. They gave you a gun when you got this job. You passed the civil service test, you were trained. Now get a goddamn grip. Breathe in., out and on the count of three. One..two...oh shit....three.'  
  
He took the gun out of the black leather holdster at his hip, turned and slowly walked into the room. He could barely see, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself by shining around a large flashlight. No..he had seen way to many horror movies to anything that stupid.  
  
Clank  
  
He turned sharply to the right searching for the source of the sound. His eyes widened and he slowly lowered his gun in both amazement and fear.. A man, or it could have been a woman since the heavy black cloak the intruder was wearing and the dim lighting prohibited him from betting able to identify gender, had managed to levitate themselves over a showcase holding what looked to be a ...magic wand??  
  
The figure mumbled a few words that sounded foreign and suddenly the showcase flew across the room, shattering causing shards of glass to fly about the room. On the pedestal remained an elegant necklace with an extremely large ruby pendant. Slowly, the pendant started to move. First to the side then sharply upwards right into the intruder's left hand.  
  
The guard shook himself from his shock, raised his weapon and tried to keep the tremble out of his voice as he spoke.  
  
"Drop the necklace! I don't know how the hell you are up there, but drop the necklace and get down here, NOW!"  
  
The figure looked down from their uplifted position, and smirked.  
  
"I swear I'll shoot you, GET DOWN HERE!"  
  
The smiling figure dropped abruptly, landing in a kneeling position. This time, when the figure looked into the guard's eyes, he wasn't smiling. He raised his hands in the air, in what the guard assumed was a submissive position, God how wrong he was. Never assume. The intruder smiled again and opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Crucio."  
  
As the guard felt the unbearable pain shoot through his body, he pulled the trigger. Then his vision went black.  
  
AN: That's it for the prologue! Please R&R. I really want to hear your comments. Once again, please no flames. 


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: It ain't mine, please don't sue me.  
  
AN: Thanx to everyone who reviewed! You guys were really supportive and I appreciate it so much. This is my first fanfic ever so please no flames. I hope I reach both your expectations and mine!  
  
*~*~*Healing Stones*~*~*  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The sun shone brightly, its rays eagerly filtering through the white cloudy curtains and directly onto Hermione Granger's face. She groaned loudly realizing that she would have to leave the cozy cocoon of her blankets and go out and be responsible. During her Hogwarts days she was the most responsible person on the planet. Thus, effectively driving both of her best friends loony, but since the first day of working at the Ministry of Magic, she suddenly wished she had had more fun during her adolescence.  
  
'Stupid sun, stupid work.' she thought as she sleepily made her way to the bathroom. She ran the water in the bathroom sink until it was freezing cold, and splashed some on her face.  
  
'Must wake up.must wake up.'  
  
She looked up at her reflection at the mirror and flinched. The bathroom lighting succeeded in bringing out every flaw in her face, even some that weren't there.  
  
"Bloody hell woman, no wonder you're still single." She spoke aloud, grimacing at her the reminder of her nonexistent love life.  
  
After showering, she brushed her teeth, and charmed the frizzy mass that was her hair she fed Crookshanks and apparated to work.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry Potter awoke when a pile of letter smacked him in the face. He shook himself awake and looked around the room in question until he noticed a rather embarrassed looking Hedwig. Harry shrugged and flipped through the parchments, noting the heavy smell of at least ten different perfumes wafting up from them. He coughed and scowled.  
  
"Once, just once I'd like to be liked for my actual personality not because I'm the Boy Who Lived" he murmured dejectedly. He rubbed his eyes and plopped back down onto his bed.  
  
He thought about the women in his life.  
  
Ginny had never really loved him. She was entranced with his fame for an accomplishment he could hardly remember doing. His friendship with Ron and his constant presence at the Burrow only enhanced her obsession with him.  
  
'It seems,' Harry thought to himself with distain, 'that she's not the only one.'  
  
Bags and bags of fan mail, all perfumed in different, yet equally repulsive scents lined his small but affordable apartment (hell, sure beats under the stairs). These women were extremely desperate, and Harry found them scary. He faced dark wizards and witches almost everyday since he started his job as an Auror, and even before that. He was scared then, but he always felt that he could handle it; he had enough magical skill to defend himself against Deatheaters and the like. He couldn't vanquish a mob of drooling women with "I love Harry" signs.  
  
Although, at times, he wished he could.  
  
At the moment, there was no other woman in his life, save Hermoine Granger, but he never thought of her that way. She was a very pretty girl, and was always willing to help him despite her lectures on rules and safety. The best part was she liked him for who he was. Who he was.  
  
'Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if we ever..'  
  
He never finished the thought as he realized he was late for work and rushed out the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Hogwarts was buzzing with excitement. The students whispered to their neighbors in anticipation of the upcoming Holiday Ball, to be held over the Christmas vacation. Girls' giggled as they imagined themselves looking beautiful in their dream dresses as their prince glided them over the dance floor. Ah, it would be a glorious occasion. The music, the starlight, the food.what could be better?  
  
'Anything but a dance.' Severus Snape thought to himself as he took a large gulp of black, steaming coffee. He glared around the room in a normal Snape-like manner. None of the students noticed as they were talking while eating their breakfast. Realizing that all of this glaring was taking up his time, he rose from the staff table gracefully, and walked from the room, his robes billowing.  
  
He walked briskly down to the dungeons, to his solace. The dark stone walls always relaxed him. The coolness of the morning clung to the hallways leading to his classroom and chambers. He removed the wards from his private chambers and entered his sitting room.  
  
The room was decorated in dark greens and golds. The room contained two chairs both facing the fireplace and a richly colored mahogany desk. The desk was cluttered with papers that desperately needed to be graded and many well worn, leather bound books open at random pages.  
  
Upon the mantle of his deep green marble fireplace was a flask containing his favorite sherry and two overturned glasses. Why he kept two of them was beyond him, but he never made the room to change it just in case Albus Dumbledoor ever decided to trade in his lemon drops for something less childlike.  
  
'Sometimes, I wish I could be that free.'  
  
At the thought, Snape literally flinched. He didn't deserve freedom. When he became a Deatheater he signed his life away. He had seen the error of his ways ten years ago and had tried to take his own life with one of his own potions. Dumbledoor, being the all-knowing man that he is, stopped him and offered him repentance. Now, serving as Dumbledoor's spy he had purpose but he never did forgive himself.  
  
He poured himself some liquor and drank it down feeling this throat burn. He smiled.  
  
"Now that the cheery morning pep talk is over with." he said to no one as he left his rooms, warded the door left for his first class.  
  
"Gryffindor and Slytherin. That class has been a hell of a lot better since that damned golden trio graduated.  
  
* * * AN: That's it for now guys. I just wanted to introduce the situations/mindsets the characters are in before I got on to the other stuff. Sorry about the wait, college is rough. Please review, you guys are awesome!  
  
To all those that did review..  
  
FaeriesFingers: Thanx! I'm so glad you're going to continue reading!  
  
Enfleurage: I haven't read those stories yet. I'll try to read them asap. I really don't want to copy anyone else's ideas. Thanx so much for telling me!  
  
Claribel: I am without a beta-person thingy, so I did the best I could myself. I'm glad I did a good job with it. I was never very good at finding my own writing flaws. Thanx for the reassurance.  
  
Labrisa: This is it..Chapter 1!! I hope it meets your expectations!  
  
Eternal Queen: I'll try the best I can to make sure you and everyone else understands exactly what's going on. It'll get "meatier" in the next chapters. Thanx for the review!  
  
Phoenix Firefly: Thanx! I want to continue this all the way through. I hope you'll stick with me. 


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Me? Own Harry Potter? No..I don't.*sigh*  
  
AN: Hi everyone! Here's the next chappie! I hope you all like it. Please I beg of you, no flames.  
  
* * * Healing Stones  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The second Harry stepped into work he knew something was amiss. Cornelius Fudge, the Head of the Ministry of magic and Harry's boss was flitting around Harry's office. He glanced at a photo on Harry's desk of Ron and Hermoine during their Hogwarts days. They smiled brightly waving at Fudge, Ron in his Quiddich robes (he became a Beater in his fifth year) and Hermoine in her Gryffindor jumper.  
  
Harry cleared his throat loudly, startling the preoccupied Minister out of his wits. He allowed time for his boss to straighten his robes, eagerly awaiting an assignment. Hopefully something relatively dull and unexciting. He had seen enough of exciting during the seven years he spent at Hogwarts. It was true that Voldemort was once again in a recession, but Harry was none too eager to go into battle again with the heartless and terrifying dark wizard that had been the bane of his existence since his first birthday.  
  
"Well.er..good morning Harry." Fudge faltered. Why, after seeing him so many times, was his boss so apprehensive around him?  
  
"Good morning, sir. Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Harry asked. The man seemed to require a bit of leading.  
  
"Oh, yes, well I have a job for you Harry, although it will take you out of England. The Ruby of Angor has been stolen from a muggle museum in Ireland. The guard who was on duty that night was attached by an unknown assailant who happened to carry a foot-long stick, a wand Harry. The man was subjected to the Cruciatus. The muggle police and the museum coordinator don't believe a word of it. We have no record of why a wizard would want the Ruby, but we believe that it has magical properties that we are unaware of. I put the report on your desk with the details, you'll be apparating at precisely ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Good luck and good day."  
  
With this said and done, Fudge strode swiftly from Harry's office.  
  
"The Cruciatus curse, eh? Why can't I get a dull job? I wish they had an equivalent to parking tickets in the wizarding world. Well, off to business. First to find out more about this Ruby." Harry flipped through the file Fudge had left on his desk. Nothing too useful there, they knew as much as he did. And where do you go when you need research?  
  
"Hermoine.."  
  
Harry apparated to her office, he might as well give her a scare while he was at it.  
  
* * * Hermoine had been deciphering, or at least attempting to decipher an overly encoded manuscript from the sixteenth century for two hours now. She hadn't made it past the first line. She started rubbing her tired and aching eyes desperately trying to keep awake. She removed her hands and when she opened her eyes, Harry's face was about an inch away from her nose.  
  
"Hey Hermoine. Working hard, like usual?" He said, noting the startled look on her face at his sudden appearance.  
  
"Merlin Harry, must you do that this early in the morning?" Hermoine asked, rolling her eyes in annoyance.  
  
Harry straightened himself, rubbing his chin pretending to ponder over her question. Coming to a conclusion he replied, "Yes, yes I do."  
  
The edges of her lips twitched upwards, then finally settled into a full blown smile when her best friend put his arm out, placing his finger on the tip of her nose, holding it there. She crossed her eyes examining his finger. They both had a hearty chuckle (AN: those are the best chuckles).  
  
"C'mon Harry, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Hermoine asked, her fervent curiosity shining through even in her adulthood. Other than that and her ever-present love for books, nothing about her had stayed the same. The battles with Voldemort during their final school year had ended Hermoine's objections about breaking rules. They needed to enjoy life now, at any time it could be taken away. Voldemort was still a threat to all of them. It puts a damper on a war when your enemy is immune to the killing curse.  
  
"Harry? Harry, are you alright?" She looked worried now. He smiled trying to make her do the same.  
  
"I'm fine Hermoine, sorry, I sorta spaced out for a second there. Anyway, Fudge saddled me with a case. It seems that a Deatheater has stolen a ruby from a muggle museum in Ireland. It might have magical properties. I have to leave tomorrow morning. Do you think you could do some research for me?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes.  
  
She couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes.  
  
"Alright, alright. Just stop doing that," she said trying not to giggle. "Does this ruby have a name?"  
  
"Yeah.the Ruby of Angor. Ring a bell?"  
  
"Actually no, it doesn't but I'll look through some of my books on magical artifacts. If I don't have anything before you leave, I'll owl it to you." Hermoine said as she wrote down the name of the jewel. "Is there anything else?"  
  
"No. Thanks 'Moine, you're the greatest." He pulled her over the desk and into a friendly embrace, and kissed her cheek. "Bye!" His words were cut off as he apparated back to his office.  
  
"Has that man never heard of stairs?" She smiled to herself. She wouldn't trade her best friends for anything. That got her thinking of Ron, off on Ministry business somewhere in Russia. His location and the strict confidentiality of the case prohibited him to contact both Harry and her. She was worried about his welfare, but she also missed his humor. He could always make her smile.  
  
They dated during their sixth year of Hogwarts, but it had not lasted very long. They liked each other, but Hermoine's "know-it-all" stature and Ron's temper seemed to be their undoing. Also, they thought of each other more like siblings but hadn't realized it yet. She shook her head. Kissing your brother-figure was definitely too weird.  
  
She walked out of her office to the grand, dust filled library. Her library. She was offered almost any position in the Ministry after graduation, and 'researcher' just seemed to fit her perfectly. And to be all around these books.  
  
She smiled. "Accio Book of Magical Artifacts." The book flew from the shelves and fell into her hand. "Angor..the Ruby of Angor.."  
  
* * *  
  
"For Merlin's sake Aylerton, if you melt one more cauldron I will personally have you removed from Hogwarts!"  
  
Severus Snape was not happy. But, when was he ever? These brats were going to be the death of him, or at least the first class ticket to Saint Mungo's psychiatric ward.  
  
The student's face paled with the knowledge of upcoming doom as he avoided his teacher's glare. Moving quickly, he cleaned up his cauldron and the spilt potion, which was slowly eating its way through his desk.  
  
Snape sighed inwardly, rubbing his temples. He usually scared his pupils using a smooth, silky, and threatening voice but today he was losing his control. He scratched his left forearm, absently showing his apprehension.  
  
'I haven't been called for such a long time. It's coming soon,' he thought nervously. The wait was the worst part about the Death Eater gatherings. Every time he apparated the overwhelming fear of being found out rose in him, making him want to retch. The feeling stayed with him through the murders and the tortures, although he rarely participated with fervor.  
  
By now the meetings had become routine. An opening speech by Lord Bastard, a muggle or two tortured, then the torture spread to the Death Eaters as Voldemort turned his wand to each of them. He didn't know if he could handle another Unforgivable curse. Gods help him.  
  
'Quit complaining. You deserve it. Some things can never be forgiven.'  
  
The bell rang, interrupting his bout of self-loathing. The children scurried through the doors, hurrying into the dungeon hallways. No one really wanted to stay down here anyway. Except him.  
  
He sat down at his sturdy oak desk, preparing to grade the little ingrates essays defining the many uses for Gillyweed. Unfortunately, halfway through the first paper his arm burned with a fiery intensity.  
  
AN: That's it for chapter 2! Thanks so much for the reviews!!  
  
Mmrosalez: All will be shown in time. I want to be sort of original, at least in my mind about how Hermoine gets back to Hogwarts. Eternal Queen: I'm glad you like it! 


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